“Not an easy ball”: United hero opens up on training ground work that paid off handsomely vs Spurs

Manchester United clinically dispatched Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at Old Trafford on Saturday, making it four wins out of four under Michael Carrick. After going down to 10 men, Spurs moved into a low block, and Saturday’s result was particularly impressive as the Red Devils managed to break that down, in contrast to their struggles under Ruben Amorim. The Everton result immediately springs to mind, but under the caretaker head coach, the hosts kept plugging away while maintaining their composure and were ultimately rewarded for their patience and ingenuity. The first goal, scored by Bryan Mbeumo, was a thing of beauty. It clearly seemed like a training ground exercise, as Bruno Fernandes rolled the ball to Kobbie Mainoo from the corner. Clever set-piece routine The Spurs backline clearly did not expect it, as they were busy guarding the heavy-hitters like Casemiro and Harry Maguire. Mainoo cleverly played the ball round the corner for Mbeumo to side-foot past Guglielmo Vicario in goal. After the game, the Cameroonian went on to explain that this routine was practised in training, but the former Brentford ace was skying all his attempts. Thankfully, he managed to keep it low during the game. Speaking to MUTV, the 26-year-old said, “Yeah, it was, but it didn’t work out on the training ground. Wasn’t working on the training ground “I put the ball over the fences each time. But yeah, today was the most important, and we’re really happy with the goal because it’s not an easy ball to hit. “A lot of spin and the ball comes at Kobbie quite hard so I just try to keep it low. I didn’t try to put too much power into it like I did in training and I’m glad it worked out.” Playing against 10 men can be quite tricky, as the forward alluded to, but he praised the fans for pushing the team across the line. “It’s not really easy to score when the opposition has 10 men. They clear everything and they were defending well. Scoring the second one who super important. It was a good game. Fans helped push the team “It’s fantastic, especially winning here. The fans were unbelievable. It was a great atmosphere, and with the fans cheering in every situation, from tackles, to clearances, shots on target, everything. So that was a big boost for us.” The Cameroon international also praised Carrick for instilling that togetherness within the squad and helping him individually as well. “Obviously he spoke with me a lot. Always tries to give me advice and asks us to work together as a team and make an extra effort for each other.” The United No.19 has 10 goals in all competitions for United and is the highest-scorer. He will be looking to add to his impressive tally when the team travel to London to face West Ham on Tuesday. Feature image Gareth Copley via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25